Secret Christmas
by Mall Rat Matt
Summary: Frustrated by how the Chosen are driving him and Salene apart, Ryan tries to do something special for his family. Written for the Tribe Universe Secret Santa Fic Exchange 2014 (and my 10th annual Tribe Christmas fanfic, woo!).


'It's not fair, and I'm sick of it!' Ryan complained, shoving his spade into the claggy ground with extra force. Leaving it standing upright he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of a dirty hand.

'Yeah, well I'm sick of it too,' Alice muttered beside him without breaking from her own work.

'Thanks,' he said.

Alice stood upright, leaning on her hoe while knuckling the small of her back. 'No,' she clarified. 'I mean I'm sick of you whining about how Salene isn't speaking to you. Growing food we're never going to be allowed to eat is torture enough without you bleating on all the time.'

'Well thanks for the support, Alice,' Ryan said sarcastically, yanking the spade back out of the ground. 'I'm just saying, it's…'

'That's the problem,' she interrupted. 'You're just saying.' She cast a careful glance over her shoulder and lowered her voice. 'You said that Salene only joined the Chosen because she was worried about the baby. If you want her back you need to show her she can get the same security from you.'

'And how am I supposed to do that?' he replied, shaking his head. Getting back to work with the spade, he began taking his frustration out on the ground.

'Hey, I never said it was going to be easy,' Alice said in a more kindly tone. 'Just hang in there, okay?'

'I just hate not being able to do anything,' he said angrily. 'If the whole city was behind us we'd maybe have a chance, but they've got everyone scared. They're intimidating Salene, intimidating all of us, and I hate it! They're nothing more than bullies!' With a splintering of old, rotten wood, Ryan's spade snapped at the neck. With a cry of rage he whirled the useless shaft around his head and hurled it into the field.

'Hey!' a blue-robed guard yelled as he and another ran awkwardly over to the plot where Ryan and Alice were working, their hems stained from the muddy ground. 'That's Chosen property you've destroyed there.'

'Ryan…' Alice said softly, a warning tone in her voice. He could still feel the anger bubbling up inside of him.

'Did you hear what I said?' the guard continued, roughly placing a hand on Ryan's shoulder.

'Take your hand off me,' the Mall Rat said quietly. The guard whirled Ryan around to face him. 'I said get off me!' he yelled, landing a fist on the Chosen's jaw. The guard's expression darkened and he retaliated. Ryan felt a burst of pain as something cracked in his nose, before finding himself being wrestled to the ground by the two guards.

'Hey, let go of him!' Alice yelled, only to find herself restrained by more guards.

'Leave her alone!' Ryan shouted at them. Then he heard the buzz of something electrical as a stabbing pain shot up his back, and everything went black.

* * *

'So. Here we are again.'

The Guardian tapped his chin thoughtfully as he reclined in his chair at the mall manager's desk, observing Ryan. 'Just what are we to do with you?'

Ryan stared defiantly at the Guardian but kept quiet. There was nothing he wanted to say that wouldn't make his situation any worse.

'You know,' the Guardian continued. 'I rather admire your persistence, but this really is getting tiresome. Your family have all found happiness and purpose in our ranks – Salene has found her role in our hospital has given her the sense of self-confidence she always lacked as a Mall Rat, and Patsy and Cloe are advancing in their studies every day, and making the right sort of friends away from the influence of certain previous associates. Yet you are still unfulfilled. Just look at all these outpourings of aggression. We could help you with that, put you to good use. Don't you think you would be much happier if you just joined us?'

Ryan grimaced. Salene was becoming more and more indoctrinated every day, and Patsy and Cloe were in way over their heads trying to spy on the Chosen from the inside. He worried for them all the time. Sooner or later they would either be discovered or decide, like Salene, that they really did want to be Chosen. And here the Guardian was, bragging about it!

'I'll never join you, you demented old goat!' he spat. He regretted it instantly, though only a little. The Praetorian Guard behind him forced him to his knees, pressing his face down onto the Guardian's desk. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a small Newton's cradle, its metallic spheres clicking together from the force of him hitting the table. There was also an astronomical chart that the Guardian had been using to track the movements of the stars. It was labelled December.

'Take him to the cage,' the Guardian said dismissively. 'A few hours in solitary confinement should calm him down. He'll make the right decision eventually, it's only a matter of time.'

The Praetorian jerked him upright, brushing his already broken nose against the desk in the process. Ryan winced but refused to cry out. Maybe the Guardian was right; maybe he should give up now and put an end to all this hurt and pain. The guard escorted him out of the Guardian's office, just as Salene was crossing the corridor in the other direction, dressed in a cream-coloured robe and carrying a small book, heading to some class or sermon or something with her fellow initiates.

'Salene!' he called out to her as they passed. She looked up, full of concern at his appearance, but at the sight of the elite guard by his side she lowered her eyes and hurried on her way. He hung his head in dismay, but in a funny way the encounter had strengthened his resolve. There was no way he was going to give in and join the Chosen, not if it was going to distance him from the rest of his Mall Rat family. But time was running out. Alice was right, he was going to have to do something, and soon. He knew he couldn't rely on his physical strength to make Salene feel safe, not against the numbers the Chosen had, but there were different forms of security. The Guardian himself had said that Ryan was Salene's family, hers and Patsy's and Cloe's too. Not the Chosen. Never the Chosen. That was what he had to focus on, to convince Salene of, now. And the Guardian's star chart had given him an idea of how he could do just that.

Before long he was back in the familiar confines of the caged lift shaft, for the third time this month. Although he hated being away from the others, it gave him time to think through his idea properly, and to plan the details.

'Ryan, I wish you wouldn't do this,' a small voice chimed in the darkness. 'They could really hurt you.'

'Cloe!' Ryan beamed, pleased to hear her, though he couldn't quite make out her form properly.

'I can't stay long,' Cloe said nervously. 'I'm due in class in five minutes. I just came to give you this.' A small wrapped bundle was pushed through the mesh of the cage and Ryan opened it to reveal the heel of a loaf of bread and a few wizened grapes. 'Trudy didn't want them,' she continued. 'Not good enough for the Supreme Mother I guess.'

'Thank you,' Ryan said, only now realising how hungry he really was.

'It's ok,' Cloe replied. 'Now I really have to go.'

'Wait!' he pleaded. 'Cloe, I need your help.'

Cloe sighed, sounding tired. 'Ryan, I'm telling the Mall Rats all I can. If I pry too much they'll start getting suspicious. You haven't seen them, not properly, not in all their weird little rituals. It's really scary!'

'Hey, it's ok. You're doing more than we could have hoped for,' he assured her. 'But what I want…it's a little more practical.'

As he told her what he needed, Cloe began to laugh gleefully.

* * *

Those hours in the cage were some of the longest he had ever spent in there, but eventually a couple of regular guards released him, with an order to 'make yourself useful'. He had to force himself to walk slowly, so as not to arouse suspicion, but once he was out of sight he practically ran to the loading bay area, hoping that Cloe had managed to do as he had asked.

When he got there the place was empty, and disappointment started to flood over him, but soon he heard the patter of footsteps and turned to see Cloe and Patsy leading Salene into the loading bay.

'Ryan?' she said, looking confused. 'What's going on? What's happening? Are you leaving? Are they taking you away?' She ran to him, clinging to his arms.

'No,' he answered her. 'I'm not going anywhere. Is everything ready?'

Cloe nodded excitedly and Ryan led a hesitant Salene to the door of the small foreman's office, opening it and gesturing for her to follow him inside. He wasn't sure if it was him or Salene who gasped at Cloe's handiwork inside.

'Patsy helped!' Cloe giggled as they took it all in. The small heater had been started, making the room warm and toasty, and paper snowflakes dangled from the pipes that ran across the ceiling. On the wall hung two crossed walking sticks from the hospital, wrapped in striped red and white hazard tape to look like candy canes.

'What is all this?' Salene asked, an astonished smile on her face.

'Happy Christmas Salene!' Ryan greeted.

'Is it Christmas?' she asked.

'Why not?' he shrugged. 'It was the Guardian who gave me the idea. I wanted to do something for my family.' Salene unconsciously placed her hands on her small bump. 'I wanted to show you that I'm still thinking about you, even though we can't see much of each other at the moment. I still love you, Salene.'

There was a small cough from the door. 'We'll just let you guys have some peace,' Patsy said, ushering Cloe out of the room.

'No, wait,' Ryan stopped them. 'You guys are my family too, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. This is for all of us. Besides, I couldn't have done any of this without you two.'

'We were hoping you'd say that!' Cloe smiled, rushing over to the corner of the room and producing a bag. 'Merry Christmas everybody!' Out of the bag she pulled out a red and white bobble hat that looked like something Father Christmas might have worn, which she gave to Salene to put on, and a couple of bare branches tied to a hair band to resemble antlers, which she handed to Ryan.

'Now you're Ryan the red-nosed reindeer!' Patsy quipped.

'Here, let me have a look at that,' Salene said, producing a pot of ointment from her nurse's bag which, at a nod from Ryan, she applied lightly to his nose. It stung a little at first, but did take away most of the pain.

'Wait, there's more!' Cloe said as she produced a flask from the bag. 'It's only Tai San's herbal tea, but it's hot!' She began to pour it out, then the door burst open and Lieutenant Luke strode inside, his robes swaying as he came to a stop.

'I knew you were up to something,' he said sternly as he surveyed the scene in the office. 'But this is the last thing I suspected.'

Salene put her hands together in supplication. 'Please Luke,' she begged. 'It's just a bit of fun. We hardly ever see each other. He's my husband! My baby's father! Please don't tell the Guardian!'

Luke passed his gaze over each of them in turn, as if trying to look into their souls. His eyes lingered longest on him, Ryan thought. Was this all a huge mistake? Had he put his family in danger just to make a point?

'Just this once,' Luke finally answered, his expression full of disapproval. 'And I want to see those walking sticks back in the hospital first thing in the morning!'

As Luke closed the door behind him, Patsy and Cloe cheered and clicked their mugs of tea together. Salene threw her arms around Ryan in relief. It was good to feel her close to him again.

'I wish it could always be like this,' Salene admitted when they had a moment to themselves, Patsy and Cloe occupied with playing a game at the other end of the room. 'But I'm afraid that if they see how much you mean to me, they'll try and keep us apart.'

'Let them try,' he replied simply. 'No matter how far apart we are, you and the little one, and Cloe and Patsy, you're all in here.' He pulled Salene's hand to his chest and covered it with his own. 'That's what family is all about, and the Chosen can't take that from us, no matter what they do.'

Salene nestled her head next to Ryan's and sighed contentedly. 'Merry Christmas Ryan,' she said.

'Merry Christmas Salene,' he replied.


End file.
